The Long Beach Water Department has released a new version of its “Report a Water Waster” mobile app that Long Beach residents can use to report real-time occurrences of water waste around the city. The free app, which is available for Android and Apple devices, allows users to report the date, time, address and type of water waste, and provides the option of uploading up to four photos of the violation taking place.

The water department has maintained a water waste reporting mobile app since 2010, but recently upgraded the technology to give users greater functionality and ease of use. The updated app is being introduced as the state’s severe drought conditions continue to worsen.

“We rely very heavily on Long Beach residents to act as our eyes and ears, when it comes to identifying water being wasted in the community,” said Kevin Wattier, general manager of the Long Beach Water Department. “This app provides us with an additional resource for reporting waste.”

Since the Board of Water Commissioners declared an imminent water supply shortage in late February, the water department has seen water waster reports skyrocket. In the month of July alone, nearly 600 reports were submitted to the department, whereas last July, the department only received 66 reports.

In addition to the mobile app, residents can report water waste by calling the water department’s Water Waster hotline at (562) 570-2455 or by submitting an online report at http://www.lbwater.org/report-water-waster

To see a full list of the Long Beach Water Department’s prohibited uses of water go to www.lbwater.org/water-use-restrictions.